Ray Winstone has revealed that his longest trip to Ireland remains a bit of a blur as he spent so much time drunk.

However, the Emmy-award winning actor insisted that there were no shenanigans on his last shoot in Ireland for upcoming Christmas drama Moonfleet.

The popular Londoner, who spent months filming King Arthur in the Republic with Keira Knightley and Clive Owen a decade ago, recalled:

“When I was on King Arthur, we were out all the time.

“I think everyone was drunk on that job for four and a half months.

“I actually moved out of Dublin - I was staying at the Four Seasons - and I went: ‘I’ve got to get out of Dublin because I’m just pissed all the time’.

“I said: ‘I’ve got to go’, so they found me a little place down between Newtownmountkennedy and Roundwood [Co Wicklow].

“I said: ‘I’m going to live there, on an old farm place, I’m going to live there for the duration of filming’. And nothing changed.

“I was on the piss but the only difference was that I was looking at mountains instead of the town of Dublin.”

Ray, who has been married to Dublin woman Elaine for 34 years, admitted that he was getting a bit long in the tooth for our “national sport” as he called it.

The 56 year old said: “It’s unbelievable. Anything you do is just ‘on it’, kind of like me, I don’t mind that.

“But I’m getting older now, I can’t do that so much anymore, can’t be out working in the morning if you do that. “

He added: “I think it’s because you’re Irish, you like having a drink.

“You’re very much like East Enders - we just love having a party and we’re frightened we’re going to miss something if we don’t take part.”

Ray spent a month around Dublin, Co Wicklow, and Co Kildare last summer, to film the two-part Sky family adventure Moonfleet.

When asked if he’d had a chance to venture away from the set, he said: “Not this time, we haven’t had the time.”

He went on: “For this film, it was the time, but if I’d been younger, I think I would have made the time.

“That’s probably where I made a mistake in the past, I just couldn’t wait to get out and probably stay out all night, and go straight to work the next morning.

“But I just can’t do that no more, physically and mentally.”

The stout and whiskey enthusiast also had the chance to catch up with his daughter Jaime when he was last over, as she filmed Love, Rosie, the screen adaptation of Cecilia Ahern’s bestselling novel Where Rainbows End.

While the dad-of-three is proud to have seen his eldest daughters Lois, 31. and Jaime, 28, follow in his footsteps, he confessed that he had hoped that would choose a different profession.

“Oh God, I didn’t want my girls to be actresses - I really didn’t.

“I thought they’d be something else, but they grew up on film sets.

“My Jamie wanted to be director and was asked to be in a film and she did for a laugh and just fell in love with it.

“And my Lois is a singer and she acts as well she’s a great singer so hopefully that’s what she will do

“But the little one Ellie, I just want her to be [something else] - “Don’t babe, please don’t be in movies.’

“But you never know if that’s what they want to do, then you back them.”

Ray Winstone as King Arthur

Although acting has become the family trade, Ray admitted that he tried not to star opposite his daughters except in exceptional circumstances.

He said: “I’ve worked with my girls - it’s unbelievable, you’re worried more about them then what you’re doing.

“So you’re looking after them all day

“And then you say: ‘No you don’t do it like that, and they go: ‘Do me a favour dad, leave me alone, go away.’

“Working with your kids is difficult, and I love them dearly and I’ve worked with them both... I probably will do again I hope but if it was my choice, I’d say no.

“They relax more when I’m not there and I certainly do, I relax more.”